The 21-year-old Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) full-time national serviceman who died on Friday at the Shoalwater Bay Training Area in Queensland, Australia, was guiding a vehicle out of difficult terrain when it landed on its side.

The Ministry of Defence (Mindef) said in an update yesterday that 3rd Sergeant (3SG) Gavin Chan Hiang Cheng, who was the vehicle commander of a Bionix Infantry Fighting Vehicle, was found unconscious next to the vehicle.

The driver and two other passengers travelling in the vehicle were unhurt, the statement said.

An SAF medic carried out resuscitation on 3SG Chan, and two SAF medical officers arrived shortly after to treat him.

He was evacuated via an SAF helicopter to Rockhampton Airport, and later transferred by local ambulance to Rockhampton Hospital, where he died from his injuries.